


Embrace Your Grief and Delight: Part 1

by asaharei, floofboy



Series: Embrace Your Grief and Delight (English Translation) [1]
Category: Senyuu. (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angel Ros, Canon-Typical Violence, Demon Alba, Don’t copy to another site, Falling In Love, Guardian Angels, Heaven & Hell, M/M, Wings, eventual hints of elfalf but not as much in part 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:28:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25902853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asaharei/pseuds/asaharei, https://archiveofourown.org/users/floofboy/pseuds/floofboy
Summary: An alternate universe featuring Alba as a demon soldier and Ros as a guardian angel. It’s a new universe with a lot of imagination put into it.A translation ofEmbrace Your Grief and Delight: Part 1byハレイ (harei).
Relationships: Alba Frühling/Ross | Creasion
Series: Embrace Your Grief and Delight (English Translation) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879801
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Embrace Your Grief and Delight 前編](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/667054) by ハレイ. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/N: So I received permission to translate this lovely story and share it with everyone in the English-speaking fandom, so here goes nothing! I hope everyone enjoys this story as much as I do.
> 
> While I’m sure this fandom is small enough no one would do such a thing, as part of the conditions I agreed to for permission, I’d like to tell everyone **not to repost this translation anywhere.** If it’s found anywhere outside of AO3, I may need to stop translating and take this work down.
> 
>  **This work also comes with awesome art** , though you’ll have to go to the original fic on pixiv to see them. I’ll include the pixiv link to the raw chapter at the end of each translated chapter, in addition to explanations on how you can give some love to the original author (it’s really easy!) 
> 
> While I include a link to a log with all the art below, I wouldn’t recommend clicking on it until I’ve finished translating all of Part 1 at least unless you don’t mind being heavily spoiled.
> 
> I am translating a translation - the author originally wrote the work in Chinese, then translated it themselves into Japanese. However, the Japanese version was well written - I don’t think there’ll be any issues.
> 
> Without further ado, here’s the author’s notes:
> 
> * * *
> 
> A/N:
> 
>   * Alba/Ros
>   * An AU featuring demon soldier Alba and guardian angel Ros
>   * I made up a lot of stuff for this new universe
>   * This is Part 1 of 2
>   * While they aren’t too prominent in Part 1, Elf and Alf will have tons of screentime in Part 2
>   * There will also be hints of elfalf in Part 2 (though not in Part 1)
>   * I did my best with Elf’s fake Kansai dialect, but it was pretty tough
>   * This work wasn’t originally written in Japanese, so there may be mistakes or areas of confusion
>   * The art was drawn by [Rin-san](https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/20762057)!
>   * While all the art is compiled in the log [here](https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/81722443), it does contain character designs that spoil Part 2
> 


“Ros! Take this!”

The moment Ros hears that voice, he ponders - this makes it _how_ many times, exactly? Then, he ponders further - just how many times would it take for his opponent to finally give it up? 

But in the end, Ros concludes that fighting him is his opponent’s job and his duty as a soldier - if the boy gave up that easily, he’d be a rather unreliable soldier. 

Ros aims a roundhouse kick towards the demon boy who just assaulted him, slamming right into the boy’s head. The boy, making a sound reminiscent of a frog being crushed under a foot, crumbles to the ground.

The boy in front of him is Alba. He's the lowest-ranked demon soldier, a private, and was clearly utterly useless. His job was to get in the way of lower-class angels such as Ros, and every day without fail, Alba attempts some pathetic surprise attack. The boy was so clumsy, Ros assumed at first that Alba just didn’t want to try at work, but he realized eventually that Alba was actually working pretty hard. It was just that Alba lacked strength - being a demon didn’t suit him at all. 

Before Alba can get back up, Ros perches himself onto Alba’s back. Though angels weigh nothing, merely touching a demon is enough to provide a shock that resembles being dunked in holy water. Though Ros can only imagine what it must feel like, apparently it resembles being electrocuted, or being burnt alive. 

The demon sprawled under him begins to cry and immediately surrenders. 

“I give up! It hurts, it hurts, get off me ow ow ow-”

Ros doesn’t move an inch. “Are you saying I’m heavy? I’m an angel, I weigh nothing. Lying is a sin, you know.”

“I’m sorry I won’t do it anymore I’m sorry…”

“Didn’t you say something of the sort yesterday as well?”

“...” Alba’s mouth slams shut out of guilt.

It wouldn’t be any fun if Ros ended up killing this demon by getting too serious, so Ros gets up, then steps across Alba’s back to go stand himself in front of him.

The demon, who until moments before hadn’t been able to get up, stares at Ros. After a short while, he finally gets up, but just sits straight, completely motionless. 

Twin black pointed horns, a tail that resembled an arrow. He was the very picture of a proper demon in terms of appearance, but his actions were nothing but childish. 

“A child like you is part of the demon army, huh…” Ros can’t help but murmur, the ridiculousness of it all getting to him.

While Ros knows nothing of the Demon World’s military affairs, it’s ridiculous that an incompetent child like Alba can go to the frontlines. In comparison, Heaven’s military is far more ruthless. Really, though this boy claims that he’d defeat Ros, it honestly just feels like childish antics.

“I’m a demon! Unlike angels like you, us demons are born as demons,” Alba objects loudly. 

Ros seems to find himself a little interested in this subject. He pushes Alba to continue. “Is that so? But humans can become demons too, right?”

“Those are rare cases! The majority of demons are born from some kind of ‘source’, then become self-aware in the Demon World. Weak or strong, every demon starts off in the same way. It was the same for me - one day, I realized I was in Demon World, and that I was me.”

Ros understands. That was certainly different from angels. At the very least, the majority of lower-class angels like Ros were born from humans. He’s only ever seen the pure angels born as angels maybe once or twice at large gatherings. To Ros, they looked like manifestations of certain forms of strength. Though they technically took human form, they simply repeated announcements in an emotionless tone like some kind of inorganic substance.

Angels, demons, Ros had no real attachment to either, but Alba’s words were somewhat interesting. Ros can’t imagine what kind of ‘source’ birthed a demon like Alba though. 

As he stares at Alba with a narrowed gaze, the boy - smoothly sensing the danger encroaching him - blurts out an explanation. 

“W-what is it? Let me just say this - most demons don’t know what their ‘source’ i- ow!”

Alba yelps as Ros flicks his forehead, electrocuting him once more. Alba rubs at the spot.

Sighing, Ros asks, “Why did you become a soldier when you can’t stand pain at all?”

If a demon was really planning to get into fights with angels, this level of pain should be nothing. In the end, Alba is just a child who hasn’t yet found his path in life. After all - Alba was currently pouting, completely relaxed next to an enemy, and revealing all of his true feelings.

“I mean, soldiers can go to all sorts of places in the Human World. And… I thought it’d be cool…”

“You believe being beaten to a pulp and crushed to the ground is ‘cool’?”

“Not that!” Alba objects, waving both of his hands in the air. He looks a little embarrassed. “Look, I didn’t have much other choice! I wasn’t really interested in things like tempting humans. I feel like I might be some help in a fight…”

“Some help? As a sandbag, you mean?”

“The only one using me as a sandbag is you!” Alba shoots back yet another increasingly noisy retort. As though he realized there was no reason for him to reveal so much, Alba asks in return- “Then why did you become a guardian angel?!”

It seems as though just as angels didn’t have much knowledge of demons, demons didn’t know much of angels. Alba must think that angels pick between protecting humans and becoming a soldier, just like a demon would. But Ros didn’t have much of a choice there. Just as demons are demons the moment they awaken, the moment Ros had died and awakened once more, he had been enveloped in light.

When he had seen his wings for the first time, he felt no awe or surprise. The thought that had crossed his mind - that he had become some kind of monster, just like his family had - may not have been that far off the mark.

But there’s no reason to tell such things to an ignorant, innocent demon. The demon in front of him is so weak you could barely think of him as a demon - he’s never even gone after an angel with the intent to kill. On the contrary - he started opening his heart to one instead. If Ros told Alba about himself, the demon might even spew words of comfort. That would be the last thing Ros would want to hear.

“Why do I need to tell a demon things about myself? Are you stupid?”

“But I told you about myself! No fair!” yells the demon boy, as he flaps his wings and departs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/N: This chapter has an associated illustration - scroll to the bottom of [this page.](https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=12975260#2)
> 
> To like, bookmark, or comment on pixiv, you need a pixiv account. Thankfully, pixiv has an English UI available so it's not hard to make an account - you can sign up [here](https://accounts.pixiv.net/signup). 
> 
> To **like** a work, press the like button. Works can be liked once a day, so I highly recommend liking it whenever you go to the page!
> 
> To **bookmark** a work, press the heart icon. Bookmarks are a common method of gauging popularity on pixiv, so if you do enjoy this work, please bookmark it!
> 
> To **comment** , you just need to leave a comment in the Comments box. If you'd like to leave a comment in Japanese, if you DM me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/floofiestboy) or [Tumblr](https://floofiestboy.tumblr.com/) I'd be happy to translate your comment for you!
> 
> The original work is complete (minus a potential epilogue), so I’ll try to translate a chapter every couple days or so.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/N: Since I know it's a dealbreaker for some people, I'd like to say that this will be the only chapter in First Person POV! Please don't let it put you off, I think it's a pretty nice chapter too 🥺

♠

Hello y’all. Today, I’m thinkin’ I’ll tell you guys 'bout an old tale of mine.

Truth is, it ain’t all that old, but I figured it’d be more fun to tell the tale like a fairytale.

Once upon a time, a man called Rchimedes lived in a village. He was normal, but at the same time, he wasn’t. He was normal cuz it wasn’t like he had three arms or anything. He was actually just a thin, weak guy - yer stereotypical researcher. But he also wasn’t normal, cuz he could see things others couldn’t.

Rchimedes could see demons and angels. He was super-duper interested in the things that no one else could see, and even after he married and had some kids, he spent all day and all night researching demons and angels. He was a pure guy when it came to his research, y’know?

Then finally, one day, he succeeded in summonin’ a demon through a ritual. Sorry to say, but the demon he summoned up? It was yours truly. My name’s Elf November, and I’m kinda doing this Grand General of the Demon Army thing. Anyways, point is, I got summoned by Rchimedes. That day, I got called over to the human world right after I finished eating. Couldn’t even remember how many years it was since I last got summoned. Had been such a long time, I got pretty damn excited.

Rchimedes said he wanted to know more about demons. I could relate to that curiosity of his, y’know? So I gave him “knowledge”. I mean, I wanted to know what he’d accomplish, you get me? All Rchimedes did was summon me - he didn’t contract with me or something. So all I did was give ‘im knowledge. Didn’t really do much in the human world before I plodded back down under.

I learned ‘bout what happened after later. After all, I’m a busy guy, yeah? Get distracted for a teensy tiny bit, and ages pass by in the human world.

Rchimedes’ research proceeded quite nicely after grabbin’ hold of knowledge that humans should’ve never had. But there’s no doubt his research was heretical to the human world. Peepin’ in at Heaven’s secrets, tryin’ to use demonic techniques? People like that were always seen as threats by everyone ‘round them. And then an unfortunate event - no, that’s not right. And then fate, the destined end decided from the start, fell upon Rchimedes.

The villagers who feared him executed his wife and eldest son in the town square.

Rchimedes was stricken by grief.

Rchimedes was frustrated. 

Rchimedes went mad with rage.

But above all, Rchimedes hated everything and everyone around him.

D’ya know how a human becomes a demon? Pretty simple stuff. Since ancient times, there’s been so few cases that you can basically count ‘em on one hand, but there’s just a single requirement for a human to become a demon. And that’s to feel something so strongly it surpasses yer limits. When a single human vessel emits a thought incapable of being emitted by its limits, that human becomes the “source” of a demon’s birth.

Rchimedes’ madness, his hatred - it hadn’t just surpassed his limits as a human. Even from the perspective of a demon, his emotions were crazy strong, so the demon that was born was crazy strong as well. And the villagers, well - they paid for their foolishness with their lives. In the blink of an eye to boot.

What? You wanna know why I didn’t stop ‘im? Well, demons can’t hurt other demons, and fighting the demon Rchimedes? That would’ve been tough even for me. And most importantly, it really did all happen in the blink of an eye. Before any human or demon could do a thing, everythin’ was over. 

So that’s why Rchimedes’ second son - there ain’t any way to describe him but “amazing”. A mere teenage boy who might’ve been greater than even his demonified father. He understood instantly that if he didn’t end his father’s life with his own hands, it wouldn’t be just him and his childhood friend by his side who bit the dust - Rchimedes would become a great calamity to the human world as a whole. In the end, a demon ain’t capable of gettin’ in the way of another demon, and accordin’ to his dad’s research, angels were far less involved in human affairs. If he didn’t do it, no one would.

It might’ve been that Rchimedes’ power hadn’t settled in just yet. Or maybe, Rchimedes still had some positive feelings towards his family. In the end, that boy named Sion spotted the newborn Great Demon Rchimedes’ single weakness, scooped up a sword one of the villagers had dropped, and thrust it into Rchimedes’ heart. And naturally, the boy didn’t get off unscathed either - the demon who used to be his father pierced Sion’s heart using his long, sharp claws.

Both demons and angels don’t exist as physical beings, so when they disappear? Ain’t nothing left of them. Even if you used to be human, since you threw away yer human identity, yer soul just dissipates and that’s that. All that was left at the scene was Sion and the other boy by his side. And as for what that other boy said, tears falling down his cheeks as he hugged Sion’s body tight to his chest - well, I’m a demon who can read the mood, I'll tell you that. I ain’t one to eavesdrop.

And it’s here where the lil sequel to this old tale, the story of Guardian Angel Ros, began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/N: This chapter has an associated illustration - scroll to the bottom of [this page](https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=12975260#3), and consider dropping a like while you do!


	3. Chapter 3

**♥**

When Ros awoke, he had become an angel, standing under golden light so bright he didn’t dare open his eyes. It seemed as though God considered his accomplishment of stopping his father to be fairly impressive for a mere child, and He was forbidding him from falling into eternal sleep. 

He received a new name - Ros - but he was never called by it. After all, angels barely communicated with each other, and humans couldn’t even perceive their existence.

Even Crea can’t see Ros. Ros’ job as a “guardian angel” is to ensure Crea’s safety and to ensure he reaches adulthood hale and whole. While guardian angels are permitted to eliminate threats to their ward, they cannot allow their ward to perceive their existence. That was rather convenient for Ros whenever he played a prank or two.

Despite everything that happened, Crea seems well. The village they used to live in is now deserted, and so Crea moved to a different village. While this village’s residents shunned anything related to the events in Crea and Ros’ village, Crea was cheerful, personable, and endlessly kind. He was able to blend in with the villagers right away. Now, he attends classes at the village’s church and helps out with the farmwork, just like all the other children in town.

Ros can’t get used to this leisurely lifestyle, one far more relaxed than anything he ever experienced while he was alive. He spends most of his time floating in the sky like a typical angel, gazing out at the peaceful fields. This village closely resembles the one that Crea and Ros used to live in. Everyone is too busy worrying about their everyday survival to care much about anything outside of the village. Though his father may have been a heretic, before the incident, they lived rather like hermits.

He had wanted their quiet life to continue forever. Even now, dead as he’s been for years, he longed for those days so much it hurt.

Though Crea can’t see him nor hear him, there’s no doubt that with Crea, he’s living the life he desired above all else. Though it’s a bit lonely not having his parents or his brother around, how could someone like him - someone who was no longer human - wish for anything more? Being by Crea’s side like this - it obviously makes him happy.

So Ros is grateful that he’s been allowed to live this life.

An incident like Rchimedes’ didn’t happen often. There’s precious few things that threaten Crea’s life in his rural lifestyle - basically all Ros needs to watch out for is making sure Crea isn’t attacked by bandits, and making sure he doesn’t get lost in the mountains.

Crea’s room has a bed, a table, and a chair plopped in front of the table. While Crea is lying down in bed, Ros sits at the table and gazes at the landscape outside the window. While angels can’t sleep, they can close their eyes for a bit of peace. Ros also likes settling down on the roof - it’s quite a nice view up there. Lately, it’s also been fun watching the antics of the demon chasing after him. That boy only targets Ros, so he doubts he needs to worry about the boy harming Crea.

It’s as though he’s become the number one spectator in Crea’s life. While he knows anything and everything about Crea, it feels like he's watching it from the other side of the River Styx. While it isn’t painful to watch, it does feel a little lonely.

If Crea could forget about him, then it’d be fine. Because that would mean that Crea had truly succeeded in escaping from his past.

But that’s easier said than done.

Ros knows that some grief is rather like air. While you usually never notice its existence, once it's gone, you just can't keep on living any longer.

This year yet again, on that day, Crea packs a bag and heads to their hometown. The path to the “Village of Graveyards”, the one no one used any longer - it’s now overgrown with grass and weeds, only suitable for animals at this point. But to Crea, that village isn’t one cursed by demons. It’s an important place to him, the place where his friends and family lost their lives. 

The innermost areas of the village were sealed away by the church, and the old, broken ruins of the houses looked to be about to collapse at any moment. Crea doesn’t carelessly step into any of them. Bypassing the village entrance entirely and heading deeper into the mountains, there lies the small gravestone that Crea had made for his friends and family. The apple trees that dot the area are ones that he’d planted with Sion when they were little - now, they form a proper grove. 

To avoid the gravestone from being destroyed for being dedicated to a “family of demons”, Crea hasn’t carved any names into it. No bodies sleep under the stone either. While all of this serves no purpose than to give Crea some sense of self-satisfaction, to Crea, coming here on the anniversary of everyone’s deaths is a duty he doesn’t dare balk.

“Papa-san, Mama-san. Lake, Sii-tan. I’ve come again.”

“I know,” Ros answers, but naturally, Crea doesn’t hear.

Crea shrugs down his bag, then silently begins cleaning the area around the gravestone. And just as always, he spreads a blanket in front of it and begins preparations for his picnic.

Before he begins eating, he always makes sure to offer enough food for his friends and family.

“Guys, I have something I want you to hear. I’m going to turn eighteen next year. Lake, Sii-tan, if you guys were still around, I wonder how tall you’d be?”

 _That’s right,_ Ros thinks. _You’re reaching adulthood next year, so my duty ends there. There’s no need to worry about my height. Apparently becoming an angel causing your height to shoot up._

“So there’s something I need to tell you all. I’m planning to leave this village on my birthday.”

On hearing those words, Ros looks up. This is news to him. 

Naturally, Crea wouldn’t expect Ros to react to his words, so he didn’t appear to respond to Ros’ surprise in any way.

“I want to go on a journey. Sii-tan always laughed at me whenever I talked about it, but if I really went off on a journey, I think he’d help me out and bring over some stuff I could use on it.”

“...”

“You might not be around anymore, but I want to live a fun life - fun enough for you guys as well - and once I really started thinking about that, it got me even more impatient to head off. It got me thinking that I need to go see lots of new things,” Crea says, snickering. Then, mumbling to himself- “I wonder where Sii-tan wants to go. I should’ve asked him…”

Ros - who’d been sitting cross-legged mid-air - drops back down to earth, feeling rather paralyzed. He doesn’t know what to do. Since he wasn’t able to talk with Crea, all he could do was guess at what Crea might be thinking or feeling, just like some stranger might. Becoming an angel didn’t grant him mind-reading powers - his only power was to remove threats from Crea’s vicinity. 

He doesn’t have the power to erase the grief that his past self had inflicted on Crea.

While Crea lets him forget about that at times, in his heart of hearts, Ros knows that saying goodbye is no simple task. Him, his family dying - it left a deep scar on Crea’s heart. Even if Ros sees his duty through to the end, he doubts he’d be able to break those shackles.

But oblivious to Ros’ dark thoughts, Crea continues to talk to himself in front of the gravestone, chatting about what’s happened in his life for a long while. And in the meanwhile, Ros is overcome with a certain impulse. This impulse itself is nothing new, but normally, he holds it back. Angels can't touch anything of the human world, be it humans or objects. So this impulse is utterly fruitless for an angel. 

And yet, he couldn’t hold himself back from doing it. It wasn’t as though there was any chance someone would see him right now. So he spreads his wings, reaches out his arms, and embraces his old friend from behind, his wings resting around them. While this is simply a manifestation of his own selfish desires, maybe, just maybe, Crea would feel some tiny bit of warmth from his embrace.

He did something rather uncharacteristic. Despite the fact that no one was watching, Ros immediately releases his childhood friend and flies up into the sky. Looking down, he can see apples dotting the trees between masses of green leaves. 

“You can go anywhere you’d like,” Ros whispers quietly.

From the very bottom of his heart, Ros wishes for his friend’s journey to go well. While he can’t accompany him on the journey, he wishes from the very bottom of his heart that everyone goes just as Crea plans.

Crea is suffering in this way because Ros left the world of the living for all of eternity.

That was his sin. And to repent for it, Ros would do anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/N: This chapter has an associated illustration - scroll to the bottom of [this page](https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=12975260#4), and consider dropping a like while you do!


	4. Chapter 4

♣

Alba feels he may have seen something he wasn’t meant to see.

He had been hiding in a tree, watching from as far away as possible while still keeping Ros in his field of vision - all to prevent Ros from noticing him. Because of his distance, he hadn’t even been able to make out Ros’ expressions, let alone what they had been talking about. All he’d seen was Ros embracing Crea from behind - the very picture of a guardian angel.

It’s a relief that he put some distance between him and Ros. If Ros found out that Alba had been watching, he’d definitely get mad. After all, Ros is an angel who doesn’t hesitate to do things more demonic than even a demon, and to Alba in particular, he’s a demon personified. Just touching an angel is enough to make a demon feel as though they were burnt by holy water, and ever since Alba met Ros, he’s discovered that little fact firsthand - his body stings all over day in, day out. 

And yet, despite knowing that very well, when he sees Ros embrace Crea, Alba is overcome by a particular desire. A raging thirst, as though he's discovered his own personal pleasure as a demon. Since Alba is still young, he’d never felt anything like it before, and neither did he know why he felt this way. But his thirst was so great, he couldn’t help but murmur-

“I want to touch him…”

He wants to touch Ros. Touch him, and confirm that he feels that stinging pain once more. Take his hand in his own, caress their palms together. He wants to embrace him tight, just like Ros had embraced Crea, or perhaps even more tightly than that. That’s right - embracing him would be best. If angels still had a heartbeat, he would be able to hear it. It would be as though he had a living treasure in his grip.

-He wants Ros.

Alba shudders, and silently shoots a retort at himself - what was he thinking? Putting aside the reasons why a demon would have such thoughts, in the end, his job was to kill angels like R- 

-he cuts those thoughts off before they could continue.

Could he carry out his duty the way he was right now? He didn’t even want to think about defeating Ros, let along killing him. All he really knew was that he loved watching Crea and Ros’ life from afar, and the chances he had to talk with Ros one-on-one were fun. They did say that demons had no compunctions about indulging in their pleasures - Alba couldn’t help but visit Ros every day.

“So there’s traces of demons left in that deserted village…”

Alba turns his gaze towards the village that Crea had bypassed. Perhaps because the demon who raged there had been so strong, even now, ruined as the village was, Alba could still sense the presence of the one who’d raised havok. And although it’s faint, he can also sense thoughts floating around that quite resembled Ros.

As Ros is his goal, when he received his mission, he also was granted tracking magic that would allow him to find his target. This is how Alba figures out where Ros is, and how he always manages to cut Ros off before he reaches where he's going. 

“This is all part of investigating the enemy… I guess…”

Anyways, Alba wants to know the connection Crea and Ros had with the village. Alba wants to know more about Ros. 

And there’s not a demon in the world who isn’t loyal to their own desires.

* * *

Alba is not a particularly strong demon. Just like many other demons out there, at some point he suddenly appeared in the plains of the demon world, and knew that he was himself. The average demon doesn’t bother to think too hard about who they are, and only the strongest know of their own “ego”.

The point is that Alba was just like every other ordinary demon - after a rather worthless childhood, he became a soldier in accordance to his place in the demon world power structure.

The demon world as a whole is a giant army. While the generals are all famous great demons, a private like Alba is bottom-rung. And he struggled quite hard just to reach a position where he’d be permitted to go to the human world.

But he didn’t have any special reason why he wanted to go there. He just thought being a soldier would be cool, and that the human world was new and interesting. His expectations themselves were really quite ordinary, and small to boot. While demons pushed for a world ruled by demons, Alba didn’t particularly care about that dream, though he did have a vague yearning for it. 

This may be the very first time he thought to do something with his own power.

Alba is capable of somewhat meddling with a human mind, though this is no extraordinary talent for a demon. The tragedy of their neighbouring village is a taboo no one dares speak of in the nearby village - so after thinking it over for a little while, he visits the village’s inn.

This village only has a single inn. While it doesn’t see too many visitors, it’s still doing decent in terms of profits. Every day without fail, a few travelers come and drop by. And while one of those travelers is checking in that day, Alba murmurs into his ear-

“Repeat what I tell you from here on out, okay?”

Apart from the traveler's face going blank for a moment, nothing in particular changes about him. Alba has never used this ability before, but it went smoother than he expected. Now, the traveler will repeat what Alba would like him to say, and the spell wouldn’t be broken until Alba was satisfied.

“Excuse me, I was wondering how I could get to Originia? It was on my map, but I couldn’t see any signposts for it.”

Alba figured the most natural way to ask questions about Originia was to have a traveler ask about how to get there. This would mean that the traveler wouldn’t be expected to know what happened, and just asking how to get there wouldn’t be suspicious. 

The talkative inn owner immediately warns him, saying, “Sir, I’d advise against going there. Something bad happened there - it’s deserted now.”

“What? It’s not like I _need_ to go there, but I thought it’d be perfect for a day trip.”

Originia is about half-day’s walk from this village, so it’s a perfect spot to rest and have some lunch.

While the inn owner accepts that reason easily enough, she doesn’t back down. “I’m not saying you’re involved in anything, but there’s rumours that the village birthed a demon a while back. If the church found out you went there, they might call in the Knight’s Order.”

“Demons? How frightening...”

The inn owner glances around, making sure that no one else was around in the area. Maybe it was because she loved to talk like a lot of old ladies out there, or maybe it was because it wasn’t the sort of topic she could use as small talk in the village… but she began talking once more despite not pushing her to continue. It seems as though she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“It was a few years ago now. A human turned into a demon, massacred the whole village.”

“What?! That’s crazy… what happened after?” Alba has the traveler ask, pretending to be shocked.

The inn owner sighs in response. “As if commoners like us would know. The church claims a pious boy sacrificed himself to defeat the demon, but d’you really think a demon could be defeated that easily? Me, I don’t. I’m pretty skeptical.”

“The church must’ve released the name of that heroic boy then.”

“Oh, what was that boy’s name again? There was a kid who escaped that village, he used to talk all about him. If I remember correctly, it was Si… Sion, I think? Yeah, I think it was something like that. Sir, I do hope you’re not planning anything dangerous. We don’t want any trouble.”

“I got it, don’t worry about it.”

Alba ends the spell, figuring that he’s gotten all the information he could from the inn owner. He leaves the inn with both the traveller and inn owner none the wiser of the third participant in their conversation.

After thinking for a moment, Alba heads back towards Originia. With Crea and Ros no longer in the mountains behind the village, Alba instead heads towards the deserted village itself.

All he can smell is grass. Without the debris littering the ground, he could’ve sworn that this land was untouched by human hands. Vines creep up the few remaining columns, and the weeds have grown up to his thighs. The few houses that remain standing seem to be about to collapse at any second. The tallest building, the one with the rotten cross, must have been the church. The earth around the church’s entrance is scorched, and the damage to the village is greatest in the area surrounding it. The further he ventures away from it, the more houses he finds that haven’t collapsed. In the furthest reaches of the village, some dozens of houses are still standing.

Any demon would be able to sense something from the scorched earth in an instant. Despite how much time has passed, anyone could still sense the ferocious strength that rested here. Alba stands in the center of the scorched area, brings up a pinch of dirt, then lets it fall back down to the ground.

Sion.

Was that Ros’ old name? If that was true, then Ros had faced an insanely strong demon in this place- a demon so strong, they ripped past their limits as a human being.

Alba came here to find answers to his questions. Standing here in this abandoned town square wouldn’t help him with that goal. After taking a deep breath, Alba begins looking for clues once more, starting from the first house he could enter in the village's innermost areas.

Most rooms were covered with dust, and had plants and mold overtaking them. It felt rather like time had stopped in the silent rooms, with everyday items strewn about in their places as though they'd simply been forgotten there. Alba goes through house after house of every house still standing, looking for any clues he could find. Letters, documents, portraits - if he could find anything of the sort, he could learn more about the people who lived there. 

Then, finally, Alba finds stone-carved marks in the mud walls of a certain house. 

The marks are meant to measure a child’s height. There's three vertical lines there, with horizontal lines crossing through them, each marked with a date to measure the children’s heights at the time. Tracing over the vertical lines, Alba can see that they’re labelled as “Crea”, “Lake”, and “Sion” respectively. The tallest height that “Sion” reaches still only comes up to his chest. Alba takes in a deep breath, and enters the house.

Just like every other house, it’s covered with dust on the inside. After passing through the living room, Alba finds three rooms. A large bedroom, a smaller bedroom with a bunkbed and desks that must be for children, and in the very back, what was clearly a study.

There were mountains of books in the study, along with a bizarre set of tools. On the study’s floor, there’s traces of a magic circle that's been erased. Entering the study, Alba sees there’s a wide variety of books lined up on its shelves. Religious studies, demonic studies, folklore - these kinds of books were strawn about the room, and open books were stuffed in the gaps between shelves. Labels filled with specialized terms Alba couldn’t begin to understand were pasted from place to place.

The desk in the corner has books piled up on it as well. Alba takes one in hand. After dusting off the cover, he sees it’s a notebook. The name _Rchimedes_ has been signed on the very first page, and it’s clear it’s some years old.

_The summoning ritual succeeded. Elf November knows much. Apparently my ritual was not sufficient to contract with him._

Elf November. There’s no one in the demon world who hasn’t heard that name. One of the Four Grand Generals, and to Alba at this current point in time, a demon who was far, far greater than he.

“A demon summoning ritual…”

The man who “became a demon” must have been the owner of his diary. Alba flips through the pages, but all he can find are research notes - there’s nothing on his everyday life. But based on the state of his study, Alba can get a vague sense of what kind of man he was.

Exiting the rather otherworldly study, Alba pauses for a moment to think. 

Finally, he enters the children’s room next door.

As he expected, he can sense Ros’ presence in this room, though it's faint. Next to the bed are two desks, one cluttered, the other neat and proper. Alba walks towards the neat desk, and after ruffling through a few drawers, succeeds in procuring a small notebook.

 _Diary_ is written in large script on the notebook’s cover. Below, smaller, the name _Sion_ has been scribbled on. Even a demon can understand that peeking into someone’s diary isn’t right. Alba feels uncomfortable whenever he does something demon-like, but his desire to know more about Ros is so great, his curiosity wins out in the end.

Skipping past the oldest pages, Alba reads through the more recent entries.

_April 5th:_

_It’s Crea’s birthday today. I put his present in a hole I dug out in front of his house, but I hadn’t expected him to actually find it. I need to dig a deeper hole next time._

_April 30th:_

_Nii-chan was annoying today. Why is it that idiots like him can always get first place in exams?_

_May 6th:_

_That bastard forgot my birthday again. Crea gave me a big rhinoceros beetle though._

_< skipped>_

_June 27th:_

_The villagers’ attitude towards us is getting stranger and stranger. Mom always says to ignore it, but I think there’s a limit to that kinda thing. Nii-chan came home hurt today. Apparently, other people consider us the children of demons._

_Rchimedes didn’t even consider leaving his research lab today. I’m sure he hasn’t noticed how everyone treats us at all._

_< skipped>_

_August 3rd:_

_I promised Crea we’d go to the mountains behind the village tomorrow. Nii-chan wanted to go as well, but he ended up getting roped into helping out Mom with the groceries. I did all the chores the other day, so I’m sure Mom will forgive me for skipping out just this once._

_That bastard’s research is going well, apparently. I can hear him talking with someone from that room every day. I didn’t tell him, but both me and Nii-chan can see them too. Apparently Mom thinks he’s just talking to air. But Mom might not care even if he was talking with air so long as he comes out to eat with the rest of us when we take our meals._

The diary ends there. Until then, Sion had made an entry every day without fail, but no doubt the incident had occurred on August 4th. On the day that Rchimedes had become a demon, Ros - in other words, Sion - had gone out to the mountains with Crea. And as for what had happened in that town square… considering the villagers’ attitude towards them described in the diary, Alba gets a very bad feeling.

That day, after returning from the mountains, Ros and Crea must have faced a demonified Rchimedes. The question was why Rchimedes had become a demon. 

Alba knows the condition for a human to become a demon.

Feeling rather dispirited now, Alba begins sympathizing with the angel meant to be his enemy. Ros may be an angel, but his origin story was far from a nice one. Even now, Ros’ heart is captured by his past. Ros can’t speak to Crea, and Crea can’t see Ros.

All that awaits Ros in the end is loneliness. 

The more Alba thinks about it, the more he’s overwhelmed with the desire to take Ros into his arms. He wants to press him into his chest, let him stretch out his wings. He wants Ros to know that Alba, at least, is still by his side. Though he may be a worthless, powerless, lower-class demon, he wouldn’t mind offering up his entire existence just to be able to hug Ros tight. 

But no demon is a selfless saint. The reason why these thoughts crossed Alba’s mind was because he felt, somewhere in him, that he could gain something much greater through these ‘selfless’ acts.

Because Alba was too young of a demon, he didn’t realize at all - but this was the moment that his obsession was born, and the moment that his true nature as a demon was released to the world. 

All he could think about was becoming Ros’ friend, soothing Ros' loneliness in even the slightest bit.

His duties as a demon soldier had long since disappeared into the recesses of his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

♦

Crea’s birthday is near. Perhaps it’s only to be expected, but nothing in particular happens in the days leading up to it - the days simply go on by. To Ros, his everyday life is almost at an end, but to Crea, the rest of his life is about to begin. In preparation for his journey, Crea has begun working to save up funds, along with meticulously saving up any tools or information that might help him. 

Ros feels rather calm about it all. He wishes nothing more than for them to separate in peace. 

His only problem is the demon that always chases after him. Lately, the demon has stopped attacking him as much, but in exchange, he’s been popping up a lot more than before.

So long as Alba doesn’t harm Crea, Ros doesn’t care what he does. Since Ros will be leaving this place soon, suddenly getting close with him after all this time would just be a fruitless effort for the both of them. And if Alba does genuinely want to be friends, he might just end up making Alba sad.

Ros doesn’t really understand why this demon wants to be his friend so badly. But while he doesn’t understand, he does know that he doesn’t want to commit the same sin once more. So he hardens his heart and vows to chase Alba away, even if it means he has to spew harsh words at the demon.

Yet despite his conviction, no matter what jeered insults he forces Alba to endure, Alba comes back to him again and again.

“I told you never to return, did I not? Are your ears just for show? Or is your brain so empty you’re physically incapable of comprehending my words?”

Ros feels his head beginning to pound after seeing that demon pop up in front of him yet again. Despite Ros’ angry insults, Alba just pouts and doesn’t move an inch.

“But I mean, Crea-kun can’t see you and all, so you seem kinda lonel-”

“-I am not,” Ros cuts in without thinking. 

Alba’s mouth slams shut. After a short pause he looks back up, back up towards Ros - the angel was taller than he was.

Then he murmurs a single word.

“Liar.”

This demon - who’s usually far more soft-hearted than he really should be - bursts forwards, eyes black and blank. With not the slightest hint of smile on his face, he stares right at Ros - right at his heart.

Ros is at a loss for words. Since when has Alba been capable of saying something like that? Just a few months back, Alba was just a child who did nothing but cry. Did demons mature this fast?

Alba leans back, leaving Ros standing there shocked and surprised. 

“Anyways, I’ll come again. I mean, _you_ wouldn’t listen if Crea-kun told you never to come back, right?”

Ros shudders, still lost in the eyes of the demon in front of him. Not even giving Ros the chance to respond, Alba squeezes Ros’ hand. Holy power burns Alba’s hand, no doubt sparking pain throughout his body, but Alba simply smiles at Ros as though it’s nothing.

“After all, Crea-kun is the friend most precious to you, and you're the friend most precious to me.”

Perhaps because of Alba’s smile, or perhaps because of the words he’s spouting, Ros’ mind goes blank for some seconds. When he comes to, he slaps Alba’s hand away, then follows that up with a kick that shoves Alba’s face into the dirt. He decides to flee immediately after that, but Alba scrambles up from the ground and chases after him, calling out his name. 

Then Alba retrieves something from his pocket and presses it into Ros’ hand. Glancing down, Ros sees a small pouch. But sensing demonic power emanating from the bag, he doesn’t open it immediately.

Alba explains, faltering, “Sorry, I know this isn’t the kind of thing I should give an angel… but it’s one of my feathers that I imbued with my mana. You can summon me just by holding it in your hand.”

Ros can’t help but snort. “Why would I ever need to summon up a demon?”

“T-there might be times when you need to! Like when you’re in trouble!”

“Despite the fact that you’ve yet to defeat me even a single time?”

“Y-you never know! Maybe you’ll end up needing it.”

“Are you off your head? Why would you give your enemy something that allows them to force your summoning?” Ros asks, perfectly reasonably. 

But Alba raises his voice, holding back his embarrassment- “We’re not enemies! You’re my friend! I know I’m useless, but I still want you to rely on me more!”

“You want an angel to rely on a demon…” 

Was Alba just incredibly naive, or was he an actual idiot?

Still, it seems Alba has no intention of giving up. He snaps, “Anyways! If there’s something I can do to help, I’ll do it. You’re my friend! See you!”

And so the demon departs.

As Ros gazes at the pouch left behind in his hand, he finds he couldn’t throw it away even if he wanted to. Perhaps it’s because Alba’s parting words still echo in his mind, or perhaps it’s due to something else… Ros doesn’t know. If Ros’ judgement is correct, Alba’s feelings are true. While the demon doesn’t seem the sort to have many friends, and he may be an inept little demon who can barely do anything evil, Ros has to admit that Alba has soothed his loneliness, just a little.

But that was why Ros didn’t want to leave Alba any sadder than he already would be. What was the point of a dead man, soon to disappear, promising to become Alba’s friend? The next time they meet, Ros must return this pouch. 

Or maybe it would be better if they simply never met again.

* * *

The day before Crea turns eighteen, Ros feels power welling up in him, more power than he’s ever felt before. As he approaches his final moments, his body is releasing heat and light just in case of a worst-case scenario. 

He made sure that he didn’t meet Alba after their last meeting, but he didn’t manage to throw away that small pouch either. But useless feelings like this won’t matter anymore once Ros disappears.

Crea’s house is almost empty - the only things left are his supplies, ready to get packed for him to set off first thing tomorrow morning. Since Crea had decided to set off on his birthday, he spent his last day in the village eating all sorts of nice things, then returned home early to get ready. One more night, and Crea will become an adult. One more night, and Ros will be released from his duty as a guardian angel. 

The vast majority of guardian angels who fulfill their duty return to the cycle of life. Even if they were lauded for their accomplishments and given new duties as an angel, they would simply reincarnate into a true “angel”. Nothing of their original personality would remain. If God so desires this worthless corpse, Ros doesn’t mind if He takes it away. So long as Ros can watch Crea safely head out on his journey, he doesn’t care what happens to himself. If he’s not permitted to stay until the sun rises, then even just watching that dumb face until the end would be more than enough. 

Once that young demon realizes that Ros has disappeared, he’s sure to be disappointed. After remembering the pouch still slipped in his pocket, Ros decides not to dwell too hard on that train of thought.

He loses track of time as he watches Crea bustle around getting ready - before he knows it, it’s gotten quite late. By now, Ros should’ve been calm, but for some reason he can’t sit still. 

Something is approaching. Something incredibly strong. Something that had the same aura as himself. 

Were angels coming to see through his last moments? He hadn’t known that angels could have such sentimental feelings. But if that was the case, there was no need to worry. And yet, he feels strangely nervous.

_Summon me when you’re in trouble._

The boy’s words echo in his mind. 

Ros shakes his head the slightest bit and shoves his worry into the back of his mind. He’s thinking too hard about this. It’s almost midnight - a few seconds longer, and Crea will be released from his past with Ros that held him down.

Crea is still awake. He’s usually an early bird who sleeps early as well, but he’s stayed up late tonight for the first time in a while to pack up all his bags. Excited for his approaching eighteenth birthday, Crea watches the clock’s hands slowly near midnight, then murmurs to himself-

“Happy birthday to me-e-e.”

Then the clock ticks midnight, and it happens. A blazing light covers the room, a golden magic circle spreading out under Crea and Ros’ feet. Shocked, Ros realizes there’s an archangel standing behind Crea, a lower-classed one from the Third Company.

“Guardian Angel Ros, thou has’t fulfilled thy duty. In reward of thy efforts, we shalt welcome thee as a new brother. Accept this honour.”

The voice of this angel he’s never met reverberates in his mind. Along with the archangel - who ranked two levels higher than Ros - there’s also a number of lower-classed angels behind him, no doubt his servants. Every angel is expressionless - they look like inhuman dolls. While Ros has no idea what this lot is doing here, he's getting a bad feeling about it. 

That’s when, far too fast for Ros to grasp a handle on what was happening, the archangel’s longsword pierces Crea’s body from behind.

“Crea!” Ros screams, reaching his arm towards Crea and realizing - he can touch him now. But angels can’t touch humans. They can only touch demons and other angels - what the hell is going on? 

Along with blood, a golden something is pouring out of Crea from where he was pierced through.

“It hurts...! Why…”

Crea can’t see what’s going on around him, so before he can understand where the deep pain in his chest is coming from, he falls unconscious. 

The archangel, gazing down at them as though nothing particularly of note was going on, states coldly-

“Thou who holds the Right, we inviteth thee to our ranks. Guardian Angel Ros, thy duty hast been fulfilled. Grant us the soul of the one thee protecteth, and thou shalt be reborn as our brother.”

“You sent me here just to bring Crea to Heaven’s ranks?!” demands Ros, somehow holding back his anger. He still holds the unconscious Crea in his arms.

It was naive of him to never think too hard about what it meant that a guardian angel protected one who had “God’s protection.” It wasn’t as though God had much interest in the human world. 

All He had wanted all along was a tool to uphold order. 

Those who had the right to become an angel received protection from a guardian angel until the day of promise, then would ascend to heaven. Ros has always been astute, so he realizes the meaning behind the archangel’s words in an instant. 

His anger reaching a peak that could no longer be held back, he cries out- “It’s Crea’s life! You have no right to mess around with it!”

Even though Crea said he was going to set off on his journey tomorrow. 

As he yells, Ros raises a barrier around them. To an archangel, a barrier put up by a lower-class angel such as himself wouldn’t even last for fifteen minutes. But still, Ros wanted Crea to live as a human, not to become a tool of heaven like himself. He wanted Crea to accomplish his dream. 

Crea has lost a lot of blood from the attack. At this rate, Crea would die as a human without becoming an angel. Was there any way to heal his wound… any way to save him-

That’s when Ros recalls what Alba had given him.

If Crea contracts with a demon, his soul would be corrupted - he’d immediately lose the right to become an angel. A human’s lifespan is part of a demon's contract, so even if the contracted human suffers a mortal wound, it wouldn’t be too difficult for the demon to heal it. 

To summon a demon, all you need is the contractor’s blood and a medium connected with the demon. Crea’s blood is pooling on the ground beneath them, and Ros has the medium needed to summon the demon. And as for the knowledge needed to actually summon a demon - Ros knows it all from his father’s research. All the pieces are in place.

The only danger is that the moment Ros begins the summoning, he must bring down his barrier. In order to summon a demon, he can’t have an angel’s barrier still up.

To protect Crea in that moment, Ros may have to die.

But still, if it means that he can save Crea, Ros won’t hesitate. He’s sure that Crea and Alba at least would forgive him for what he’s going to do - contracting Crea with a demon, forcing trouble onto a clueless Alba.

“How foolish of thee to disobey the Lord’s will.”

The words may be harsh, but the tone was completely emotionless. It was as though these armoured angel soldiers were only reproaching the sinners as per their orders.

While Ros’ barrier may last a little longer under the assault, there’s not much time left. As Ros uses Crea’s blood to draw a summoning circle onto Crea’s palm, he clicks his tongue in frustration. “Don’t screw with me - you bastards were the ones to make me an angel in the first place. Ain’t like I asked for it.”

He presses Alba’s pouch into Crea’s palm, and begins reciting the spell to summon a demon. The angels outside the barrier make quite the commotion, sneering at him for “speaking words of evil.” Their every attack widens the cracks in the barrier, and the moment Ros finishes reciting the spell, the barrier shatters.

At that moment, a number of things happen simultaneously.

The magic circle to summon a demon activates. The black-purple summoning circle surrounds the angels’ magic circle, and its golden glow disappears as Crea loses his Right. Alba, who had been summoned here, appears in front of Crea and Ros.

Just in time to see the archangel’s blade pierce through Ros’ heart.

Feathers from Ros’ white wings scatter around, and Alba - who’s yet to understand what’s going on - opens his eyes wide. Holding out against the deep pain, Ros reaches out his hand - drenched in his friend’s blood - and caresses Alba’s cheek, leaving a trail of blood against it.

“Take care of Crea.”

Ros’ expression was indescribable. It was pleading, perhaps, or maybe simply relieved, relieved that Alba had come as he had promised. Happiness blended with sadness, and a bit apologetic as well. That mere instant’s worth of feelings was burnt into Alba’s retinas.

“R… Ros…”

Alba tries to grasp Ros’ hand, but in the next moment, Ros scatters into fragments of pure light. A lowest-ranked guardian angel couldn’t possibly withstand an attack from an archangel - he disappears into the air. 

That’s when Crea finally opens his eyes as well. He feels as though he saw the blurry figure of his friend just then, but he soon finds he can’t see a thing. Black and gold light illuminates the whole area - bright enough that no normal person would be able to withstand it.

“Demon.”

The angels raise their weapons and charge at Alba. Demons were not an existence that could be tolerated for them, even if it meant one who held the Right would die. This was the law and order that heaven so desired.

But none of that mattered to Alba right now. Right now, Alba was too busy coming to terms with the fact that Ros disappeared.

Ros.

Ros disappeared.

Ros was killed by angels.

Why? No, the reason doesn’t matter. Ros was killed. He had seemed like he was having so much fun just the other day, and yet- Ros.

Something breaks in Alba, something that was holding him back. Something he had been unconsciously suppressing is violently released at once, and Alba’s eyes bleed red. Alba’s mana roars out from him, still standing where Ros’ barrier had shattered, and in an instant, it swallows the archangel’s lower-classed angel servants. 

“A mere soldier has’t such strength?” admires the archangel, though as emotionless as ever. 

But Alba doesn’t lend an ear to the archangel’s words. Instead, he draws the sword at his hip and lunges out.

As demons absorb the power of the angels they defeat, destroying angels is an important way for demons to improve their abilities. The angels that Alba had just defeated have already turned to dust, and as a result - Alba is no longer a mere private.

“Give back- give back Ros!” he yells, slashing at the archangel’s sword and knocking it to the ground.

To the archangel, nothing they did would change the fact that this mission was a failure. Now that they’ve lost their weapon on top of that, further battle would be meaningless. 

So the archangel disappears, leaving only cruel words in their wake-

“His soul has’t disintegrated. Never against shall he returneth to the cycle of life.”

Alba tries to chase after the angel, but there’s no longer any sign of them anywhere. His red eyes return to black, and he collapses to the ground, face blank. But after a while, he remembers Crea.

“Crea-kun…”

He runs over to Crea, staggering a little as he does, but Crea’s wound has already healed. It seems as though his contract with him has been sealed.

Hearing his name, Crea opens his eyes weakly. Though he’s never seen the boy in front of him in his life, for some reason the boy gives him a sense of ease. But the moment Crea opens his eyes, the boy begins to cry.

“I’m- I’m sorry… Crea-kun… Ros… Sion, he…”

“Sion? Then just now, it really was Sii-tan…”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I didn’t make it in time…”

While his body still feels weak, his vision slowly clears. The boy has horns growing out of his head and black wings growing out from his back - he’s clearly no human. He also gets the feeling that Sion had been with a group of people with white wings who glew gold. 

“Sii-tan… was by my side, all this time?” asks Crea.

Still crying, Alba nods.

Even though Crea should’ve known nothing, he feels as though he kinda gets it. Though it’s faint, he gets the feeling he’s connected to the boy. 

Crea takes Alba’s hand in his own and comforts him. “I don’t really get it, but it’s thanks to you that I’m still alive, right? And… I understand how you feel. Sii-tan saved me again, I see… I couldn’t do anything again.”

“I’m, sorry,” Alba apologizes again, choking out another large sob. Then he whips his head back and forth and wipes away his tears.

“My name is Alba - as you can see, I’m a demon. I’ll protect you no matter what happens.”

Ros asked him to do it. Alba would see this promise through no matter what.

But Crea shakes his head. “...No, Alba-kun. I don’t want to be protected anymore.”

Sion died twice for his sake. And Crea hadn’t even realized until the very last moment this second time. He doesn’t want to hide behind someone and be protected anymore.

“Is there any way we can get Sii-tan back? If you want to get him back, Alba-kun, I want to help you out.”

Crea may not be able to move just yet, but he gives the demon in front of him a determined gaze. At Crea’s words, Alba is taken aback. Why should he give up just because of something an enemy told him? He has no clue what he can do right now, but there still may be a possibility. Nodding, Alba takes Crea’s hand and makes to say something.

But at that moment, a breezy voice pipes up from behind them.

“Sorry ta bother. If ya wanna save that lower-class angel, well, I got a lil’ plan.”

Feeling his hairs stand on end, Alba almost jumps up. A strong presence had appeared out of nowhere - he hadn’t sensed him coming at all. He immediately brings his hand to the sword at his waist, but before he can blink the presence has moved in front of him, holding his hand back. That’s when Alba finally gets a good look at their face. 

In his complete and utter shock, politeness was the last thing on Alba’s mind, and so, quite rudely for a lower-ranked soldier, he breathes-

“Elf November…”

A laugh trickles out of Crea’s mouth as he looks at the two demons, but the laugh certainly doesn’t reach his eyes. 

Then in a small voice, one only he could hear, he whispers-

“Sii-tan, looks like our vacation is going on hold again. Please wait… just a little bit longer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/N:  
> This chapter has an associated illustration - scroll to the middle of [this page](https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=12975260#6), and consider dropping a like while you do!
> 
> There's also a spoiler-free illustration of Alba and Ros' designs on [this page](https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=12975260#7) along with the afterword I translate below.
> 
> I'll try to get started on the translation of Part 2 soon!
> 
> * * *
> 
> A/N:  
> As I didn't originally write this in my mothertongue, the entire story is actually finished. But as Part 2 is longer than Part 1, I'm not sure when I'll finish translating it - it'll probably be around 30k characters in Japanese.
> 
> I do want to do my best and translate it. I may lose strength partway through, but I'll still do my best! I'm really happy that Rin-san drew illustrations for the novel and pictures of the designs for me.
> 
> I did my best with the grammar and the characters' speaking styles, but Japanese isn't my mothertongue - please be gentle. 
> 
> Also, doing a fake Kansai dialect was way too hard. Sorry Elf...


End file.
